Mumbai: Indian equity benchmark indices ended higher for the second straight session on Friday, supported by strong buying in pharma and banking stocks.

Gains in select auto and energy shares also helped lift the market sentiment.

The Sensex opened around 100 points lower at 82,075 due to weakness in IT stocks. However, it soon recovered and surged to an intra-day high of 82,654 — up 579 points.

The index finally closed 329 points, or 0.4 per cent higher, at 82,501. Similarly, the Nifty touched a high of 25,331 during the day and settled 104 points, or 0.4 per cent higher, at 25,285.

“The Nifty remained strong on Friday as it broke out of the recent consolidation range. The trend continues to stay positive as it is sustaining above critical moving average,” analysts said.

“The setup

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